Is This The Real Life? Is This Just Fantasy?

Playing fantasy baseball is the most fun I've had playing baseball since I was 14. If you're a stats-oriented fan, this is the activity for you. The best thing about this game is, obviously, getting to draft players from all teams (if you're in an all-inclusive fantasy league) and collect points based on how well or how poor they do. Where else could you have an infield that consists of Joe Mauer catching, Aubrey Huff at first, Dan Uggla at second, Derek Jeter at shortstop, and Scott Rolen at third (this, if you couldn't tell, is my fantasy infield)? Not even at an All-Star Game would one team with players from both leagues be possible. In a sense, you feel like you're genuinely managing a team: constructing lineups based on real-life injured players or those with off days, wheeling and dealing in the trade market, picking up free agent players if you so choose. You sure get the same excitement or heartbreak as you would watching a regular game: if your players do well, and your points increase, you feel as if they alone were responsible for their real-life team's successes (which, in some cases, they very well may be: one of my fantasy players, Colby Rasmus of the Cards, belted a grand slam this afternoon which helped lift his team 6-1 over the Reds, and into first place in the division), and vice versa.

In past years, I used to think that fantasy baseball was just a vehicle for people who couldn't play the game in real life, or who didn't want to for whatever reason, but now I see that it's not only a fun pasttime based off our nation's, it's a statistician's dream come true. You follow the players at-bats, their runs scored, home runs, runs batted in, stolen bases and averages; and you can also keep track of your pitchers' innings pitched, strikeouts, walks, hits, runs, wins, ERAs, and most other stats commonly used in determining a player's worth. It's also a good way to find out about players you never knew about: Rasmus is now one of my favorite players, as is Uggla, Huff, and Baltimore's Ty Wiggington, all players I never usually hear about. It gives you more players and even teams to root for in real life: without Zack Greinke, I'd never give a care about the Royals except to make fun of my mom when they lose to the Yankees. Fantasy baseball has shown me another side to a game I thought I knew nearly everything about, and I'd recommend it to any fan.